Despite Repeated Supply Sources and High-Price Warnings... Panic Buying Reignites Among People in Their 30s

July Seoul Apartment Buyers in Their 30s Account for 39.5%
Close to January's Record High of 39.6%
Stayed at 34-36% After 2·4 Measures, Then Rose Sharply
Public-Led Housing Supply Sluggish, Home Prices Rise Steeply

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim On-yu] Despite the government's successive supply expansion measures and warnings of peak housing prices, the 'panic buying' among people in their 30s is intensifying again. The proportion of apartment purchases by people in their 30s in Seoul, which had been stagnant until June after the February 4 supply plan, approached an all-time high in July. This is interpreted as a resurgence of young people's desire to own homes amid a shortage of listings, continued record-high prices, and sluggish public-led supply.

According to the Korea Real Estate Board on the 1st, out of 4,646 apartments sold in Seoul in July, 1,834 units, or 39.5%, were purchased by people in their 30s. This is the second-highest proportion since January, which recorded the highest since statistics began in 2019 at 39.6%.

The panic buying by young people, which began in earnest in the second half of last year, slowed somewhat after the February 4 plan that included the supply of 570,000 urban households. After peaking at 39.6% in January, the proportion remained around 34-36% with 35.9% in February, 36.1% in March, 34.1% in April, 36.7% in May, and 35.2% in June, but it increased again in July.

The main reason for the rekindling of panic buying among people in their 30s is the steep rise in housing prices. According to the Korea Real Estate Board's nationwide housing price trend, the apartment price increase rate in Seoul in July was 0.81%, the largest since 1.12% in July last year.

As the shortage of listings deepens due to strengthened capital gains tax on multi-homeowners and housing prices continue to rise, the anxiety of people in their 30s about owning a home has grown. The sluggish progress of the August 4 plan announced last year, which promised a supply surge, even after a year, is also analyzed to be further fueling their unease.

In particular, the easing of loan regulations for non-homeowners and real demand buyers in this atmosphere has further encouraged purchases by young people. The government raised the preferential loan-to-value ratio (LTV) by 10 percentage points for them and relaxed the housing price criteria from the previous 600 million KRW or less to 900 million KRW or less in speculative overheated districts, and from 500 million KRW or less to 800 million KRW or less in regulated areas.

An official from real estate agency A in Gangbuk-gu, where mid-to-low-priced apartments are concentrated, said, "Housing prices keep rising, and with the increased loan support, the buying momentum among newlywed couples in their 30s has strengthened, leading to record-high prices whenever contracts are signed around the 700 million KRW range," adding, "Although there is a transaction freeze across Seoul, the transaction volume in Gangbuk-gu has actually increased compared to last year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.